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Police-brutality trial: Fresno sergeant kicked away evidence





A Fresno police sergeant testified Friday in his federal criminal trial that he "launch kicked" a piece of evidence -- a beer bottle -- from a handcuffed suspect.
"I felt like an idiot" about doing it, Sgt. Michael Manfredi told the jury in the police-brutality trial in U.S. District Court.
Though Manfredi couldn't say how far the bottle traveled, prosecutors say it was discovered more than 100 feet from suspect Rolando Celdon.
Another defendant, former Fresno cop Sean Plymale, already has testified he later picked up the bottle and placed it next to Celdon.
Manfredi's admission poked a hole in the prosecution's theory that Plymale planted the bottle evidence during the arrest of Celdon, who was punched and kicked, bitten by a police dog, shot with a stun gun, and blasted several times with a bean-bag shotgun in October 2005. But Manfredi wasn't able to refute all the prosecution's case, including his admission that his police report had inaccurate information regarding Celdon holding a stick and bottle to fend off a police dog.
 An indictment accuses Manfredi and Plymale of concealing the alleged assault on Celdon by former officers Chris Coleman and Paul Van Dalen. All four are charged with falsifying an official report to obstruct justice. If convicted, each faces up to 20 years in prison.
The four officers were fired after Celdon's arrest. Manfredi won his job back through an arbitrator and a civil service review board. An arbitrator ruled Plymale should be reinstated, too, but he chose to remain with the Madera Police Department. Coleman and Van Dalen left police work.
Police were searching for Celdon because he had broken into his girlfriend's southeast Fresno apartment and assaulted her.
Manfredi testified Friday that he was the last of the four defendants to arrive at the scene of Celdon's arrest. He said he didn't see Celdon drag Plymale's 70-pound police dog, Tymo, over a 6-foot, chain-link fence topped with barbed wire.
He also said he never saw Van Dalen kick Celdon, nor did he see Van Dalen step on Celdon's injured ankle or hear Van Dalen and Coleman joke about shooting Celdon in the testicles. But he did hear Coleman fire his final bean-bag shot at Celdon. Manfredi recalled that Celdon was handcuffed face down in the dirt. He said he directed Van Dalen to roll Celdon over so Celdon could sit up. That's when Manfredi said he first saw the bottle.
Manfredi said he used his foot to sweep the bottle away to ensure Celdon couldn't use it as a weapon. He said he then "launch kicked" the bottle.
Defense attorney Scott Quinlan asked him why he did it. "It's a childish habit," Manfredi testified. He described kicking the bottle like a football player on "fourth down." Said Manfredi: "It was a good kick straight on."
He also addressed other charges in the indictment.
Prosecutors have charged Coleman with driving a speeding police car toward a handcuffed Celdon in order to terrorize him. Manfredi testified he heard Coleman slam on the brakes and saw a cloud of dust. At first, he said he feared that Coleman might hit Celdon. But the patrol car stopped a safe distance from Celdon, he said.
Manfredi said he berated Coleman for being stupid. But he also concluded it was an accident.
Manfredi also said he saw Plymale interview Celdon at the hospital. In his testimony Wednesday, Plymale admitted he wrote in his police report that Celdon told him in "plain English" that he had used "cranka," a slang term for methamphetamine, though Celdon speaks Spanish and a test later revealed Celdon hadn't used drugs or alcohol.
Manfredi testified he could tell Celdon spoke only Spanish. He said when Plymale asked Celdon about using "cranka," Celdon acknowledged "in the affirmative" with a gesture or head nod.
On cross-examination, Manfredi agreed with prosecutor Jared Fishman that his police report was inaccurate because it said Celdon had armed himself with a stick and bottle to hit Tymo. He said the detail about Coleman shooting a stick and bottle out of Celdon's hands like "Annie Oakley" also was wrong.
The report had errors, Manfredi said, because he relied on what he had overheard from his co-defendants and other officers. He testified that he never thoroughly questioned the other defendants to get a clear picture of what happened to Celdon.
After his arrest, Celdon was convicted of stalking and striking his girlfriend. He was deported to Mexico. Because Celdon can't be found there, the prosecution's case is built three Fresno cops who have testified that the unarmed Celdon posed no threat when Coleman fired six or seven bean-bag rounds at him and Van Dalen kicked him in the side at least twice. They also said they never saw a weapon near Celdon when he was taken into custody.
The trial will resume Tuesday in Judge Anthony Ishii's courtroom.